The Alaska Board of Fisheries accepted 5 agenda change requests (ACRs) at their Work Session today. Each of the accepted ACRs would reinstate proposals adopted at the February 2026 Alaska Peninsula/Chignik Finfish meeting that were subsequently voided by the Department of Law.
The 5 ACRs were all adopted by votes of 4-3 with members Märit Carlson-Van Dort, Olivia Irwin, Curtis Chamberlain and Blair Hickson in support of accepting each of the ACRs and members Tom Carpenter, Mike Wood and Paul Cyr opposed to each of the accepted ACRs.
The following ACRs were accepted by the Board of Fish today:
ACR 6 to establish a 10 consecutive day closure between June 10 and June 23 for seine and drift gillnet gear in the South Unimak and Shumagin Islands June Salmon Management Plan.
ACR 7 to establish a 10 consecutive day closure between June 10 and June 23 for seine and drift gillnet gear in the South Unimak and Shumagin Islands June Salmon Management Plan.
ACR 8 to amend the Post-June Salmon Management Plan for the South Alaska Peninsula to enforce king salmon caps with reductions in commercial salmon fishing time in the South Alaska Peninsula.
ACR 9 to reduce maximum gillnet depth in the Alaska Peninsula Area to 70 meshes.
ACR 10 to amend Alaska Peninsula Area seine specifications to reduce net size.
ACRs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 12 were rejected by votes of 0-7. ACRs 3 and 13 were voted down by votes of 1-6 with Chamberlain in support. ACR 11was rejected by a vote of 3-4 with Irwin, Chamberlain and Hickson in support.
The Board Chair Märit Carlson-Van Dort and Executive Director Art Nelson will determine the best timing for an in-person special meeting to consider the 5 accepted ACRs, probably in Anchorage, either in mid-December or in February.
